Heat Catch Fire, Roar Past Magic

Down 13 Points In The Third Quarter, Miami Stormed Back To Blast Lethargic Orlando, 115-100.

November 13, 1993|By Selena Roberts of The Sentinel Staff

The energy the Magic had to start the season, the power from Shaquille' O'Neal and the lift from the bench, seems to have suffered a blackout.

The Heat made sure of it, surging in the second half to overtake the suddenly flat Magic, 115-100, Friday before 15,291 at Orlando Arena.

It was the their second consecutive loss after a 3-0 start, this one against a Heat team that had been seeking respect and some statewide attention, tired of playing in the dust of the star-sewn Magic. They got Orlando's attention, using Glen Rice's 30 points to help them overcome a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to gain momentum and pull off the victory.

''They were more aggressive,'' Magic coach Brian Hill said. ''We just looked lazy in the third quarter and couldn't get anything going offensively and couldn't get a rebound (outrebounded, 21-16, in the second half). We just had a lack of intensity. And part of that has to be my fault.''

There was enough blame to go around, with O'Neal unable to get going, scoring a difficult 21 points while stumbling into foul trouble once again.

''It was a jungle out there,'' said O'Neal, who averaged 38.3 points per game in the first three games. ''We couldn't get a rebound. Those people (the fans) saw what happened. Yeah, I will (get back on track) once it starts being 5-on-5 and not 8-on-5.''

A tense ending seemed so unlikely as the Magic started off in a cruise mode, with Nick Anderson scoring 18 or his 29 points in the first half. The whole team seemed changed from the night before. The Magic couldn't pop bubble gum against Charlotte, hitting a flat 39 percent Thursday. Not this night, bursting out of that pattern on the Heat, starting the

game shooting 54.2 percent.

It was such a clean beginning, as the Magic committed just four turnovers to the Heat's 13 in the first half and outrebounded them, 16-15. All of it was reflected in the score, the Magic ahead, 63-52, at halftime.

That lead quickly vanished, though. The Heat turned prickly on the Magic, unwilling to give in so soon. Instead, Rice scored 15 points during the third, part of a 14-2 run that ended with 3:07 left in the quarter, with Miami ahead, 78-76.

The lead then changed hands three times and was tied five, the last time at the end of the third quarter, 84-84. The close game was separated when the Heat went up, 100-94, after a flagrant call on Greg Kite with 4:15 left. There was nothing left in the Magic at that point, no energy left to overcome the despair they felt over the officiating. But more importantly, no energy left to keep this one from getting away.